Process and Product Safety: Contaminants

“All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”  — Leo Tolstoy, in Anna Karenina I once worked with a facility that discharged process equipment cleaning water to the city sewer. They had a tough time staying below the discharge limits for copper. In turned out that the city water [...]

By |2025-11-06T11:14:13-06:00July 31st, 2025|Chemicals, Craft Distillery Safety, PHA, Process Safety|Comments Off on Process and Product Safety: Contaminants

Hot Work: Explosion and Fire in Tequila, Mexico

“Tastes like heaven, burns like hell.” — Fireball slogan Tequila is a far cry from the cloying cinnamon-flavored spirit called Fireball. But they both have one thing in common: they burn like hell. Literally. As do all spirits. For reference, the flash point of 80 proof (40% ABV) spirits, is 26 C (79°F), meaning [...]

By |2026-01-14T18:58:56-06:00July 24th, 2025|Chemicals, Craft Distillery Safety, Process Safety, Workplace Safety|Comments Off on Hot Work: Explosion and Fire in Tequila, Mexico

Spilt Whiskey: What a Waste

“You have to be prepared to take a spill.”  — Shaun White Not long ago, a friend and I were watching a movie where one of the characters, despondent and bereft, stumbled down the street while clutching a bottle of spirits. As the character unlocked the door to his home, the bottle slipped from his [...]

By |2025-11-06T11:15:06-06:00July 17th, 2025|Chemicals, Craft Distillery Safety, Process Safety, Workplace Safety|Comments Off on Spilt Whiskey: What a Waste

Hazard Communication: Does Whiskey Need an SDS?

“Whisky making is an act of cooperation between the blessings of nature and the wisdom of man.”  — Masataka Taketsura While on a tour of a craft distillery, the distiller (and owner) and I got to talking about the safety aspects of distilling whiskey. The question of whether whiskey needed an SDS came up. It [...]

By |2025-11-06T11:15:52-06:00May 15th, 2025|Chemicals, Craft Distillery Safety, Procedures, Process Safety|Comments Off on Hazard Communication: Does Whiskey Need an SDS?

Process Safety: On the Bourbon Trail

“Devils drinking devils and the flames are getting higher. All of Bardstown’s crying tonight, Heaven Hill’s on fire.”  — Shannon Lawson, The Galoots Chris Schmidt and I recently returned from a week-long trip to Kentucky to enjoy the countryside and to sample bourbons from some of the 46 distilleries on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. As [...]

When Opportunity Knocks: Hand Sanitizer and Process Safety

“Be adventurists in the sense of being bold and daring. Be opportunists and seize this opportunity, this moment in history, to go out and save our country. It’s your turn now.”  — Abbie Hoffman Since the COVID-19 pandemic started, we’ve been contacted several times by firms that are planning to jump into the business of [...]

By |2026-01-14T18:36:02-06:00May 28th, 2020|Chemicals, Craft Distillery Safety, Current Events, Process Safety|Comments Off on When Opportunity Knocks: Hand Sanitizer and Process Safety
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